Being a proud member of the Trojan family myself, I could not think of anything more self-destructive to this storied program than firing Kiffin. Due to his stints with the Oakland Raiders and the University of Tennessee, Kiffin has never been a media darling.

Since he was not current athletic director's Pat Haden's hire (Kiffin was the last move by former AD Mike Garrett), many have speculated that Haden may wish to one day hire his own guy to run the show.

I disagree.

Pat Haden, like his predecessor Mike Garrett, is a clear-thinking Trojan legend. He understands the culture and the tradition of USC. He understands Lane Kiffin and guys like recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron represent continuity from the glorious Pete Carroll era.

Lane Kiffin has done an amazing job recruiting despite the scholarship sanctions. According to Rival, USC has consistently the best recruiting class year in year out since Kiffin took over in 2010. The expected downturn due to the 2-year bowl ban never occurred. He did a great job keeping team cornerstones such as quarterback Matt Barkley from transferring during those tumultuous times.

If you had asked any USC student or alumni about the harsh sanctions in 2010 (when Pete Carroll jumped ship and Mike Garrett stepped down), the consensus was that USC was looking at a four to five years of irrelevance in college football.

No one could had predicted that USC would had finished 10-2 in two years (#6 on AP poll) and that we would be the number one preseason on the AP poll in less than three years. This year's team would not qualify as a disappointment if Kiffin did not significantly overachieve with last year's team.

Kiffin's only fault is raising expectations. The irony is you could not blame Kiffin for USC's problem this year without crediting him for the success last year.

It never ceases to amaze me how many USC haters there are across America (especially in Westwood). It always seems like USC and Notre Dame are the most hated schools in America due to our achievement both on the field and in the classroom.

The way I look at it is simple: If USC is getting hated on like the New York Yankees of college football, it must means we are doing something right.